Tag Archives: Manila International Book Fair

It’s been a very bookish week since I arrived from Europe, and I am definitely not complaining. This week was special for Filipino readers because The First Filipino Reader Conference happened last Wednesday, and it was also the 32nd Manila International Book Fair (it’s still happening at SMX now, so if you haven’t been there, you still have time!). If you missed the ReaderCon, you can read what happened at the @PinoyReaderCon twitter (tweeted by yours truly :) ).

However, despite my two-day attendance at the Book Fair (the most I’ve did since I started attending), I did not get any book from the fair itself! I was supposed to, but I was terribly late yesterday and I was just too tired to look for a book (or beads for jewelry making), and most of what I wanted was gone. So this week’s (and last week, actually) stash includes some books I got from Book Depository, a book I borrowed and a book I bought during but outside the Book Fair. :P

The loot

Oh, and a lot of bookmarks, too, from the ReaderCon.

Anyway, the books:

The books

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin – yes, I’m jumping into the bandwagon. I got this from National Bookstore in Mall of Asia. I wanted to get the boxed set, but I ran out of them in the Book Fair. I was supposed to get all four books, but man, they’re thick. So I decided to get just the first book for now and I’ll decide later on if I want the others. Again: man, this book is thick. 835 pages!

Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood – borrowed from Chachic! And her personal Aussie library book tour continues. :)

A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner – yay paperback! And thanks, Book Depository. :) I had this pre-ordered a few weeks back.

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta – pre-ordered this from Book Depository a few months back, too. :) Thanks to Nomes for the heads up of the paperback edition. Plus, I heard its sequel is coming out soon, so I should bump this up my TBR. :)

Oh, and I also got my blog business cards, which I had printed in a rush just for the ReaderCon. Features Steve Emond‘s drawing, and designed by my lovely friend Jana from Jana Styles. :)

Blog business card!

Talk about taking all the book blogging thing seriously. But hey, this is good for networking, and making friends. :)

I remember those days when I’d go crazy during Book Fair season, but I think I’ve mellowed out. That, and after paying for some Europe bills, I need to be more prudent with my book spending. That, and I really still have too many books in my TBR pile, and I really want to whittle it down further. Is this me maturing as a book hoarder? Gasp.

My blogger friends have been posting about it since last month, so this is a late post…but you know what they say: better late than never! I christened the months of August and September as “book months” because of all the bookstores that go on sale during this month. It’s changed this year but around this time, all major bookstores in the country go on sale, and all of the sales culminate with the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), where I have been known to go crazy a couple of times because of all the books on sale in one place. :)

There’s more reason to be excited for this year’s Manila International Book Fair because of this:

It’s the first ever Filipino Reader Conference! It will be on the first day of the book fair, September 14, 1-6pm at Meeting Room 2 of SMX Mall of Asia. I know, it’s a week day, but if there was any time to use a vacation leave for work, this is a good one! I already filed my leave! :) This is the first ever gathering of Filipino readers, bigger than all those meet-ups and book club meetings that we’ve been blogging about in the past year! There will be panel discussions on different topics like blogging and book clubs, social media and bookishness, and all sorts of fun activities made especially for Filipino readers.

And did I mention some cool prizes up for grabs? :)

My blogger friends have been making a lot of noise with this event in the past few weeks, so if you haven’t heard about it…well, now you have! I’ll be the live Twitter-er for the event, so follow @PinoyReaderCon for updates! More fun stuff and information on the official website for the conference, too :)

Ten days to go until this event, friends! Are you going? If so, I hope to see you guys there! :)